Silchar Ashram

 

 

Sri Sri Ramthakur Idol, Silchar Ashram

 

 

Sri Sri Narayan Shila, Silchar Ashram

This post would be more beneficial for the devotees from Assam and Tripura. Many of you would not be knowing about the existence of an ashram of our Holy Gurudev at Silchar, Assam. This ashram is under the ardent guidanceship and care of a very pious saint known as Sri Balaram Brahmachari who is an ardent disciple of Sri Sri Ramthakur!! I must give you a brief introduction of this holy figure before telling about the ashram. Sri Balaram Brahmachari as I told you is a very pious saint of a divine nature and one can attain enormous peace by just only having his darshan!! Apart from his quest for spiritualism, he has dedicated his whole life to the benefit of common and poor people. While he took his sanyas & diksha from Sri Sri Sunil Maharaj of the Dingamanik Ashram, Bangaldesh at a very young age and surrendered his whole life at the holy feet of Sri Sri Thakur, he had been helping many many families who are very poor through the money donated to him by rich people. He has even sold his mother's ornaments for the education of many children of poor families and has taken care of those families for years and years until and unless those kids grew up and became financially stable to take care of themselves, like this many stories are heard when someone visits silchar!! The ashram at Silchar also takes care of boarding and lodging of poor people visiting from Agartala or the from the interior parts of Tripura who visits Assam for their medical treatments. The ashram charges a very nominal fee of Rs.100/- per day which includes room as well as the holy prasad all the threee times a day alongwith tea two times a day. More important is that anybody can go there and stay if they are needy and it is not required that they should be under initiation of  our Gurudev's Naam diksha!! He only believes in Humanism as our Guruji used to say that we are all Manob Somproday!! Whats more! there is also a facility of getting of injection drugs by a trained medical attendant boy prescribed by any doctor in case of any emergency. Due and proper care is taken by the ashram people who are very dedicated to serve the humanity which is nowadays is very difficult to find in other ashrams!! I can tell the difference as I have visited many ashrams of India. Many poor people specially from agartala daily visit this ashram and stay there while they visit silchar for their medical treatments. Like this Sri Balaram Brahmachari has got another land somewhere at Kolkata donated by some affluent devotee where he intends to make a Yatri Nivas for the common and poor people so that those poor people who come from north-eastern states or other parts of India for medical treatments to Kolkata can come and stay!! The ashram at Silchar is located at Rangir Khari, Vidyasagar Sarani, Srirampalli, Sudipta Nursing Home Road, Silchar. If you go by flight you would have to land at Silchar Airport and from there it takes another 1 to 1 1/2 hour journey by car and if you go by road then you would have to get down at Guwahati station and from there you can go by Assam State deluxe buses which took around 12 hours to reach there. The ashram celebrates each year the Maghi Purnima in a very big scale which falls mostly in the beginning of  February month. The festivals runs for 2-3 days where one can enjoy the holy and divine Naam Sankirtan and holy Mahaprasad. The Mohant Moharaj of Dingamanik Ashram, Bangladesh also visits here every year during the utsav and bestow his holy blessings on the devotees!! I would urge atleast the devotees of Assam & Agartala to whom the existence of this ashram was unknown and who are staying there to not to miss this occassion of the upcoming utsav!! Please go and participate in the Maghi Purnima utsav where you can feel the divine presence of Sri Sri Thakur Himself. I once had the opportunity to do the morning puja (Mangal Arti Puja) at 4.30 a.m. and can just tell you the experience which was just mind boggling which I would cherish all my life!! Jai Ram!! 

Surrender

 

Surrendering onto the holy lotus feet of your Gurudev or God is the very basic criteria in devotion and it should not be only in words or saying instead one should feel it from deep inside his heart. In our ancient epics there is one shlok in sanskrit which goes like this: Mukang Karoti Vachalam, Pango Langhyate Girim, Jat Kripa Tamahang Vande, Parama Nandam Madhavam which means that A dumb fellow can speak or a lame fellow can very easily cross over a big mountain if You bestow your holy mercy on him O My Lord Madhava!! Our Gurudev also always used to insist on this. Once somebody was discussing with Him on the wordly problems & pains and during that he asked then what is the Upay (solution) ? Immediately Sri Sri Thakur replied Upay is Nirupay!! means Surrender to God!! All great Gurus and saints have also insisted on this to be in submission to the almighty lord!! Sri Ramakrishna used to say as I am nothing, everything is my Holy Mother Kali!! Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu used to say Kirtaniya Sada Hari, to always chant Lord Sri Hari's Holy Name!! Shirdi Sai baba used to say have Shraddha on the Lord (of his Shraddha and Saburi quote)!! The acharyas also always give example of Draupadi from the epic Mahabharat about when she fully surrendered to the Lord Sri Krishna and cried out for help to save her Dushashan, the Lord immediately came to her rescue!! Another example also be given of Gajendra Moksham from our Purans as when an elephant who was attacked by a ferocious crocodile how he cried out for help to save him and also offered a lotus flower from the river and the Lord Narayan immediately came to his rescue and killed the crocodile by His Sudarshan Chakra!! The biggest example can be given of Sri Hanumanji from the epic Ramayan who was an ardent devotee of Lord Ram and who achieved so many unimaginable feats just  by chanting the Holy Name of Lord Ram!! The bridge which was made on the sea with the stones on which Sri Ramnaam was written to reach Lanka is the ultimate example of devotion!! Like this there may be hundreds of stories in our holy scriptures which throws light on devotion and surrendering to the holy feet of God and which actually guide us on our path of devotion!! Jai Ram!

Detachment

Dear Guru brothers/sisters! Jai Ram! I wish all of you who are located all around the globe A VERY VERY HAPPY AND PROSPEROUS DEEPAWALI!! I wish that Diwali which is the festivals of lights may remove all our darkness of ignorance about the Almighty Lord from our inner selves! Today I thought that I should narrate something about Detachment which has been told manyatimes in our ancient scriptures and also by our holy Gurudev Sri Ramthakur! To know properly about detachment it would be better to describe some incidents from our puranas. It once happened that rishi durvasa who daily used to eat only two chappatis made of durva (grass) was meditating on the bank of river yamuna and Smt. Radharani the consort of our Lord Sri Krishna who was on the other side of the river had a desire of offering many delicious food items to the rishi. Accordingly, she prepared all the items and started for her journey to see the rishi but when she came to river yamuna she was shocked to find that the river was overflowing due to high tide!! Due to this no boatman was available to ferry cross the river!! She prayed to Lord Sri Krishna who immediately appeared there and after coming to know about the problem smilingly said that just go to the river and say that if Sri Krishna hasn't thought or touched any other lady except Smt. Radharani in his whole life then give me way to cross you!!! Hearing this Radharani was stunned as how it is possible?? Sri Krishna who is always surrounded of hundreds of gopis always! But whatever it is she went to the river and told as instructed by the Lord and immediately the river yamuna gave way to cross her!!! Radharani was again astonished!! After approaching the rishi and paying her respects, when she offered the food items to him, the rishi who was famous for his daily meal of two chapattis of durva, requested radharani to feed all the items with her own hands then only he would accept them!! She agreed and accordingly the rishi ate all the food. Now Radharani had to return back and again the same problem came to which the rishi enquired that how had she came here. She told the entire story and the rishi laughed mischievously at this!! The rishi then said that now go to the river yamuna that ask her that if the rishi has ate only two chapattis of durva today then give way to cross!! now this was again the moment for radharani to be shocked!! how is it possible as she has fed the rishi with her own hands but the rishi insisted and she went and told as asked by the rishi and again the river yamuna gave way to cross!! Friends, actually this is the sense of detachment!! Lord Sri Krishna may be always surrounded of hundreds of gopis but He used to see always only and only Smt. Radharani in each n every gopi and similarly the rishi durvasa who may have eaten many delicious food items but his inner sense was only accepting them as his daily meal of two chapattis of durva!! Sri Ramakrishna also used to give example of a kind of fish which is found in mud but you will not find any mud on its body!! similarly, stay in this world like that fish which is mud with a sense of detachment!! do all your duties but inside know the truth that these are not real and are temporary!! Once somebody wanted to check the detachment state or renunciation level of Lord Sri Krishna Chaitanya Mahaprabhu and put some powdered sugar on the tongue of Mahaprabhu and even after a long time the sugar didn't melted and suddenly after some time the wind blew away the sugar as it is!!!! this is detachment!! But this is also correct that it is not possible without the mercy and grace of the almighty lord and we should pray for it from Him. Jai Ram!!

Sri Ram Thakur is Chaitanya Mahaprabhu

 

 

 

I don't know how many people know this eternal truth that our Gurudev Sri Sri Ram Thakur was none other than Lord Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu himself who had came some 500-600 years ago and Sri Sri Thakur was his incarnation. Even at that time also many people were not knowing this secret and it was revealed to only his very close disciples. Actually this secret was revealed some 2-3 times by Sri Sri Thakur himself in a state of Divine possession. It happened once at Phanindra Malakar babu's house when the Rajasuya yagna took place which happened as per our Guruji's instructions. During the yagya once Sri Sri Thakur asked for Malsa Bhog Prasad offered to the deity and asked why he hadn't been given that prasad. And then he explained that how this Malsa Bhog came into existence. He said that once Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu did Mahanaam Sankirtan at Sribas Angan (Sribas's house) and it continued for whole night, sometimes he cried, sometime he laughed & sometimes he became unconcious showing all the ashta-satvik vikars!! (8 divine symbols of Prema-Bhakti). After that He was very tired and felt hungry and asked for mahaprasad, at this all the devotees bowed their heads in shame and said that all the mahaprasad has been consumed & nothing is left!!! At this Mahaprabhu said that prasad can never be finished, bring to me all the earthen pots/plates that contained mahaprasad. When as per his instructions all plates were brought to him he asked Gadadhar (a very close devotee of Mahaprabhu) to collect all the leftovers of each n every plate in a separate plate and so everything like curd, ghee, honey, various types of dry fruits etc. and it was named as Malsa Bhog by Mahaprabhu himself. Mahaprabhu asked Gadadhar to give it to everybody to him also. While narrating the story, Sri Sri Thakur's words changed here a little bit in the end of the story and said as Gadadhar gave Malsa Bhog to everybody and to ME also, and I WAS VERY HUNGRY AND AFTER EATING IT I FELT VERY SATISFIED (Pl. read RAMBHAI SARANE BY SRI PHANINDRA MALAKAR). In an another incident it was the time of World War II. All devotees in bangladesh & kolkata were very much scared, at that time once Guruji suddenly exclaimed to a few close devotees as I AM ONLY SRI CHAITANYA MAHAPRABHU, DON'T WORRY!! EVEN IF THOUSANDS OF ARROWS, SWORDS ARE THROWN AT YOU THEY CAN DO NO HARM ONTO YOU. There is a misconception about Sri Chaitanya Maaprabhu's end of his divine past times amongst a larger secton of our bengali society even among our Guru brothers and sisters also. Its really a pity!! Some say he has been killed by the pandas of Jagannath Temple of Puri, some say he died in an accident by coming under the wheels of rath during Rath Yatra festival at Puri, some say he jumped into the sea in a state of krishna consciousness and never returned!! pathetic indeed. Our Guruji who was none other than Lord Sri Chaitanya himself had clarified this thing very clearly. Once during an evening walking in an isolated place with his close disciple Sri Phanindra Malakar babu Sri Sri Thakur had disclosed the actual truth to him. But actually it had started with a conversation involving about similarity between Sri Naam and Sri Guru's/Lord's human body form. Malakar babu questioned that how can both be same as when we spell out Sri Naam its a vaccum but Sri Guru has a body. At this Guruji said who told you that Sri Guru has an ordinary human body form instead his body is divine not like ordinary human beings. Haven't you heard that Lord Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu had mixed with Tota Gopinath Vigraha in Puri. At this Malakar babu also argued that it is true that I have heard actually but I don't believe it and also as you are my Guru, I cannot lie to you!! Hearing this Guruji was astonished and asked I am telling you & you don't believe??? Malakar babu reiterated again by saying yes. At this Guruji said Good! and immediately vanished into the air in front of his naked eyes!!!! Malakar babu was shocked and dumb struck for a few minutes and looked for him hear and there but to no use!! Then he understood his fault and started crying and asked him to forgive his fault and requested Guruji to come back as to what he will tell others because nobody absolutely nobody will believe him!!! When like this nearly 1 hour had passed, malakar babu was repenting and crying then suddenly Guruji came from behind and tapped his shoulder, malakar babu immediately fall at his holy lotus feet and begged to forgive him. Guruji said Never doubt your Guru's words as by doing this lose all your punyas or say EHOKAL AND POROKAL. MANTRA MOOLAM GURUM VAKYAM (Ref.Sri Guru Gita). Dear Friends, Actually what had happened that daily during mahanaam kirtan Sri Mahaprabhu would dance and enter the Grabha Griha of Sri Tota Gopinathji alone and would return but that very day Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu didn't returned back!! After waiting for him as usual when he didn't came back all devotees went inside to look for him but there was nothing!! Great Devotee Meera also had mixed with Lord Sri Krishna like this!! Jai Ram!